Д.е.н. Мешко Н.П., Буланкіна О.Є.

HS Mittweida, Germany

DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AS A KEY STRATEGY IN GLOBAL COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT

The basic formula for diversity is rapidly evolving. It is nolonger simply a matter of creating a heterogeneous workforce, but using that workforce to create the innovative products, services, and business practices that can set a company apart and give it a competitive advantage in the marketplace. And as companies compete on a global scale, diversity and inclusion frequently have to shift, as different markets and different cultures have varied definitions of what diversity means.

Today, diversity and inclusion efforts are de rigueur for almost all companies. Executives understand that their companies can’t be successful on a global platform if they don’t have a diverse and inclusive workforce. A diverse and inclusive workforce is necessary to drive innovation, foster creativity, and guide business strategies. Multiple voices lead to new ideas, new services, and new products, and encourage out-of-the box thinking. Companies no longer view diversity and inclusion efforts as separate from their other business practices, and recognize that a diverse workforce can differentiate them from their competitors and can help capture new clients. To gain a better understanding of the role that diversity and inclusion play in companies around the globe, it was conducted a comphensive survey of more than 300 senior executives. All of the executives were involved in developing, implementing, or managing strategies or programs related to diversity and inclusion for their companies’ workforce.

So, how widespad cultural diversity management is? In accordance with the weighting and the occurrence of cultural diversity it is hardly surprising that German companies practice very little cultural diversity management when seen in an international comparison: 44 percent of the German companies stated that they applied cultural diversity management, compared with 75 percent of European companies and 92 percent of US American /British companies (see fig. 1). In this context attention has to be drawn to the fact that social desirability and voluntary participation in the survey respectively may have influenced the data compiled so that the figures will probably be higher than the real average; another point that needsto be borne in mind is that legal regulations in the USA make (cultural) diversity management compulsory for US companies [1, 2]. Furthermore, the term “apply” will have to be clarified, which will be done in a later paragraph. For comparison: in their survey Süß / Kleiner (2010) found a share of 38.5 percent of German companies applying diversity management. In addition, a slight difference can be detected between companies from the manufacturing and the service sectors, with a higher percentage of cultural diversity management in the manufacturing sector. A considerable gap, on the other hand, can be perceived between small and big companies: 69 percent of companies with more than 20 000 employees practice cultural diversity management, as against only 44 percent of companies with less than 20 000 employees by contrast.

Fig. 1. Distribution of cultural divers

The globalization of business has created a sophisticated,complex, and competitive environment. In order to be successful, companies need to continually create new products and services. And the best way to ensure the development of new ideas is through a diverse and inclusive workforce. A diverse and inclusive workforce is necessary to drive innovation, foster creativity, and guide business strategies. Multiple voices lead to new ideas, new services, and new products, and encourage out-of-the-box thinking.

Today,companies no longer view diversity and inclusion efforts as separate from their other business practices, and recognize that a diverse workforce can differentiate them from their competitors by attracting top talent and capturing new clients. And while diversity and inclusion efforts at companies are a given, organizations still face external and internal challenges in implementing these policies and procedures. Internally, companies are still struggling with negative attitudes about diversity among their rank-and-file, while externally, a rocky economic recovery has impeded many companies’ hiring efforts [3].

Looking forward, companies must also grapple with an aging workforce, a declining pipeline of qualified talent, and the challenges of managing a multigenerational workforce. But as long as organizations can keep their “eye on the prize,” that is, to keep diversity and inclusion efforts at the top of their priority list, it will position them to weather these challenges and come out ahead of the competition.

The list of references:

1. The Council of the European Union (2000): Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 on Racial Equality, Brussels.

2. The Council of the European Union (2000): Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 onEmployment Equality, Brussels.

3. Ely, Robin J. / Thomas, David A. (2009): Cultural diversity at work: The effects of diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcomes. In: Administrative Science Quarterly, 46 (2). – P. 229-273.